A new rule setting the liability of cleaned- up toxic-waste sites will speed their redevelopment, federal Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson said Wednesday.

The rule, issued this week, clears up lingering liability issues under EPA’s Brownfields program, Johnson told the national Brownfields conference being held in Denver.

“The rule provides the clarity and assurance that if you follow this, you’re good to go,” Johnson said. “With that kind of certainty, we think it’s going to encourage more and more people to want to take on a Brownfield site.”

Johnson’s speech kicked off the conference, which was expected to draw more than 5,000 attendees – from neighborhood activists to renowned architects.

The conference, at the Colorado Convention Center, marks the 10th anniversary of the Brownfields program, which provides financial assistance to redevelop contaminated sites.

Johnson cited the redevelopment of the former Villa Italia mall in Lakewood as one of the program’s great successes. Today, the new Belmar district features shops, restaurants and new residences.

“Lakewood is a remarkable, collaborative success story of putting both people and a property back to work,” Johnson said.

Robbie Roberts, EPA regional administrator based in Denver, said the Brownfields program isn’t helping just blighted urban city blocks, it’s also helping several Western mountain communities near abandoned mines.

“It makes bad places better, better for the environment, better for public health and better for economic development,” Roberts said.

Since its inception in 1995, the Brownfields program has leveraged about $7 billion in private-sector funding and created more than 33,000 jobs, Johnson said.

“When people are proud of their community, they’re invested – invested in each other and invested in the future of their neighborhood,” Johnson said.

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